Monthly Archives: November 2015

The announcement from CCI means that they still haven’t made up their minds yet about whether they’ll be mailing badges out for 2016, but they are urging attendees to log into your Member IDs to make sure that your mailing address is up to date and correct.

“As always, we continue to try to enhance the attendee experience at Comic-Con,” David Glanzer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations of Comic-Con International, told us. “That certainly includes the registration process. At this time, mailing out badges is an idea about which we have had some discussion and should we eventually go down that route we want to be sure attendee information is as current as it can be. While we understand there are potential drawbacks to this scenario we are also exploring possible solutions to those drawbacks.”

On the one hand, the idea of not having to schlep over to the Town & Country in Mission Valley or join the massive queue at the convention center to stand in line for four hours just to get your badge is very appealing. On the flip side though, this is a surprising move (assuming it happens at all) considering how anti-badge-scalping Comic-Con International has always been.

Frustrating or not, having to stand in line and present a physical ID during the actual convention is a bit of an automatic deterrent to anyone thinking about breaking the rules and trying to re-sell their Comic-Con badge. By physically mailing out a badge, where scalpers could potentially even write down the unique code required to verify for Preregistration eligibility the following year (a step many believe was added specifically to deter scalpers), there are a lot fewer obstacles in the way of someone looking to profit. While most other conventions are mailing out their badges to attendees, no other convention is as in demand as SDCC (with the possible exception of New York Comic Con) — and that’s a market that every year, people try to capitalize on. This seems like something that’s only going to aggravate that particular problem.

There are also a lot of other potential questions, like — how would attendees get their WB bags or souvenir guides? While we can’t see those going away in 2016, how we receive those items would definitely be up in the air.

Sesame Street has a new character. Julia, a preschooler with autism, is part of a new online initiative aimed at raising awareness

Julia (centre), with her friends Abby and Elmo.

Julia is featured in an online storybook, where she plays with fellow Sesame Street characters Elmo and Abby. Here is how the conversation played out in one part of the story:

“‘Can I play?’ Abby asks Julia. ‘Can I play?’ But Julia doesn’t look at Abby. ‘Oh, and sometimes Elmo waits a long time for Julia to answer,’ Elmo adds. So Abby and Elmo wait.”

“Finally Julia says, ‘Play with Abby and Elmo.’”

The site also features a music video called The Amazing Song, which features autistic kids playing with Sesame Street characters. Sesame Workshop is using the hashtag #SeeAmazing to promote the project on social media.

Having a brand with as big a reach as Sesame Street address autism is huge, said Dr. Barry Prizant, an adjunct professor at Brown University and author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism.

If you want to educate kids about autism and prevent things like teasing and bullying, you don’t do it by explaining the condition to them, Dr. Prizant said. Instead, “the best way to do it is through their experience. And for very young children, Sesame Street’s a real world. It’s not this fake world.”

“Elmo is real, Big Bird’s real, and if you could have a child named Julia who happens to have autism, she’s real as well,” he said.

Besides educating the broader public, the Sesame Workshop website also offers resources, including videos and daily routine cards, to help families with autistic children.

And while Julia won’t be appearing on the TV show just yet, there is a possibility that can happen in the future, a Sesame Workshop spokesperson said.

It’s bad enough when your favorite showed has a terrible finale that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. How about the shows that left you hanging when they were canceled? Check out ten of the most frustrating unresolved TV cliffhangers left behind by shows that got the ax.

Twin Peaks

In 1991, “Twin Peaks” ended after its second season with Agent Cooper being possessed by Killer Bob, then quickly closed out. Fans were outraged that the show dropped such an awkward unexpected bomb without any clear explanation. However, there is still hope that the eerie police drama can be resurrected with David Lynch and Mark Frost at the helm 25 years later, most likely in hopes of resurrecting this cliffhanger. Some say the ending was open to interpretation, while others say it’s plain crap.

FlashForward

The postmortem “Lost” letdown that everyone tried to get hooked on after we said goodbye to Jack, Kate and the gang failed to deliver despite having part of the “Lost” cast. Already having trouble in sustaining its audience before it was let go after a single season, its finale was already in the can before the show was canceled. The creators laid out a blueprint for a five-season run and put a lot of energy into setting up the later seasons without doing a good enough job to keep the show going that long. Characters with invested storylines and new storylines, which had no context to them, accumulated to bring on one of the worst cliffhanger finales in TV history.

Deadwood

Trixie shoots George. George survives, wants to shoot Trixie. Johnny shoots a prostitute, hopes to make it look like Trixie. George leaves town. A stranger shows up and kills another guy. The end. That’s the summary of the finale of “Deadwood,” a show most people regarded as a great show until its sloppy finale with many looming questions. Though it was said to be written as a series finale, nobody can believe it after only a three-season run with so many loose ends untied.

My Name Is Earl

We never found out who the father was of Joy’s (played by Jaime Pressly) child. The show ended its fourth season with a “to be continued,” which never actually continued. That’s pretty much it. This finale sucked. Couldn’t they have just tweeted the results to us?

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

What started as a great TV potential counterpart to the “Terminator” film series quickly lost ground before bottoming out at the end of its second season. The show ended with John Connor jumping into the future where nobody knows him and essentially killed the TV franchise with too many unexplained questions. Didn’t they end up making a movie about this? Does anyone care? Are there any horse socks? Is anybody listening to me?

Southland

The one thing you cannot do is end a show with someone’s life on the line. The cop drama, starring Ben McKenzie and Michael Cudlitz quit rolling after season five, leaving a huge question unanswered for longtime fans about the uncertain future of the pill-popping Cudlitz. If you were hoping for a spoiler warning, consider yourself lucky as no man should have to witness a show without a little forewarning for its lack of resolve.

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

The Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher-led Superman series ended with Lois and Clark discovering a baby, ultimately leading to the question, “Whose fucking baby is that?” The plot point itself actually led nowhere as the series concluded right then after four seasons. The former writers came out and said the baby was to be revealed as Kryptonian royalty who would grow up at an alarming rate and develop super powers before leaving Lois and Clark to return to save his people. The show was canceled before any of that anti-comic book storyline could be told, most likely because of a premature wedding proposal from the Man of Steel. If you ask us, it’s a blessing in disguise for Superman fans that the cord was pulled.

Mork & Mindy

In the quirky Robin Williams alien-centric series finale, Williams’ character is exposed to the world as an alien shortly after Mindy’s home is desecrated by an evil alien. The show ended in 1982 with Mork and Mindy stuck in a vortex, floating off into space with the last line, “Whatever happens, we’ll have each other.” But what about us?!

ALF

The little furball from Melmac always had a hunch the government was after him. In 1989, “ALF” had one of the worst series finale endings when ALF himself was actually taken into custody by the government, leaving people with zero resolution as to whether or not he would be OK in the end.

Pushing Daisies

Here’s a real kick in the nuts: The adorable supernatural baker who started off strong in her first season got an immediate order for a 22-episode second season, but when ratings dropped, the show was turned off and its second season squashed. This left looming story landmines all over its finale, and the studio heads offered some sort of compensation by suggesting a comic book or movie to help wrap up the story, neither of which are even remote possibilities now.

In a story that seemed like it was straight out of ESPN, Den of Geek reported earlier today that Marvel had struck a deal with 20th Century Fox to get the rights to Fantastic Four in exchange for the X-Men television rights.

According to the report, the proposed deal would allow Fox to follow through on two X-Men television series, while giving Marvel access to the villainous trio of Silver Surfer, Galactus, and Doctor Doom. It was also rumored that Marvel already had a Fantastic Four reboot film on it’s five-year movie slate.

Not surprisingly, fans were quick to jump on the reports. But according to Entertainment Weekly movies writer Anthony Breznican, the reported superhero swap is not actually happening.

“Spoke with Fox and Marvel and both sides confirm: Fantastic Four is still with Fox. No change of hands,” Breznican wrote on Twitter.

Den of Geek has also updated their original story to include a response from 20th Century Fox that called their report “completely untrue.”

In a related story, The Incredible Hulk is still being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kobe Bryant. Kidding. For now, anyway.

Rumors of the actor’s alleged demise gained traction on Monday after a ‘R.I.P. Zachary Levi’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the American actor’s passing:

“At about 11 a.m. ET on Monday (October 12, 2015), our beloved actor Zachary Levi passed away. Zachary Levi was born on September 29, 1980 in Lake Charles. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”

Hundreds of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 35-year-old actor, director and singer was dead. And as usual, Twittersphere was frenzied over the death hoax.

Where as some trusting fans believed the post, others were immediately skeptical of the report, perhaps learning their lesson from the huge amount of fake death reports emerging about celebrities over recent months. Some pointed out that the news had not been carried on any major American network, indicating that it was a fake report, as the death of an actor of Zachary Levi’s stature would be major news across networks.

Zachary Levi Death Hoax Dismissed Since Actor Is ‘Alive And Well’

On Tuesday (October 13) the actor’s reps officially confirmed that Zachary Levi is not dead. “He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet,” they said.

Some fans have expressed anger at the fake report saying it was reckless, distressing and hurtful to fans of the much loved actor. Others say this shows his extreme popularity across the globe.

LONDON — Meryl Streep is to serve as the president of the jury at the 66th Berlin Intl. Film Festival, which runs Feb. 11-21. It will be the first time that she has served as a film festival juror.

“Meryl Streep is one of the most creative and multifaceted film artists. To mark our enthusiasm for her extraordinary talent we awarded her the honorary Golden Bear in 2012 for her lifetime achievement. I am very happy that she is returning to Berlin and with her artistic experience will take on the chairmanship of the International Jury,” Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick said.

Streep has been a guest at the festival on several occasions: in 1999, she was awarded the Berlinale Camera, and in 2003, together with Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman, she shared the Silver Bear award for their performances in “The Hours.” In 2006, she appeared in Robert Altman’s ensemble comedy “A Prairie Home Companion,” which played in the competition section. In 2012, the Berlinale dedicated a homage to Streep and awarded her the honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement.

“It is a thrill to return to the festival under any circumstances, but it is with great relish and anticipation I look forward to jury duty. The responsibility is somewhat daunting, as I have never been president of anything before, and I hope I can come up to the precedent set by the distinguished juries of preceding years. Grateful for the honor,” Streep said.